Canadian Contractor - July-August 2015

COMPANY NEWS
CertainTeed targets Canadian builders
The company’s insulation products now carry a Health Products Declaration, while its
MemBrain moisture barrier product, developed in Europe, has now reached Canada
CertainTeed MemBrain being installed.
When homeowners talk about going green, they are
actually “investing in their own comfort,” says Drew
Brant, vice president of marketing for CertainTeed’s
insulation division.
So CertainTeed’s product development revolves around
“comfort” on four levels: thermal performance, acoustics,
air tightness, and moisture management.
The challenge is distinguishing products that, to consumers
and even some pros, seem a lot alike. “There’s not that much
difference from batt to batt,” acknowledges Greg Silvestri,
president of CertainTeed Insulation. What separates insulation
suppliers, then, are often their relationships with customers. And at
a time when some suppliers have backed away from the Canadian
market, CertainTeed, Silvestri says, is “redoubling” its efforts to
serve Canada.
Canada accounts for 15 per cent of annual worldwide insulation
sales for Saint-Gobain, CertainTeed’s parent company. “Canada is
still one of the world’s largest consumers of insulation,” says Drew.
And it is clear that air tightness and sustainability are the hooks
upon which CertainTeed is hanging its marketing hat.
The company’s latest campaign trumpets fiberglass insulation
as a better choice than stone wood insulation – a favorite among
some Canadian contractors – because the manufacturing process
uses far more recycled materials, it is more efficient to transport
and easier to install, it costs less per square foot, and it rates
at least as highly as stone wool for thermal resistance, sound
performance, and restricting moisture infiltration.
To further emphasize the advantages of fibreglass insulation,
and to help builders and architects make informed specification
decisions, CertainTeed in January issued the industry’s first Health
Product Declarations for fibreglass insulation. The Declarations
aim at establishing standards for a common reporting language
for disclosing information about the ingredients used to make a
building product and its associated health information.
Air tightness goes hand in hand with moisture control for wall
systems. And in May, CertainTeed Insulation Group Canada
intoduced MemBrain, a patented polyamide-based material that
the company is positioning as a “smart” alternative to poly vapour
barrier sheeting.
MemBrain, which has been available in Europe for a decade,
is pricier than polyethylene sheeting: it will add between $300
to $500 to the cost of an average 2,400-square-foot house. But
CertainTeed contends the investment is worth the cost because
its product adapts its permeability depending on different climate
conditions. MemBrain’s water vapour permeability increases as
the relative humidity in a wall cavity increases, thereby water
vapour escapes the cavity easier, which in turn prevents mould
and mildew.
– John Caulfield
32 July/August 2015 www.canadiancontractor.ca